European stocks nudged lower on Tuesday as investors waited for more concrete trade developments between the U.S. and China.

The Stoxx 600 /zigman2/quotes/210599654/delayedXX:SXXP+2.48%
fell 0.1% in early trading, while the German DAX /zigman2/quotes/210597999/delayedDX:DAX+3.36%
dropped 0.3% and the French CAC /zigman2/quotes/210597958/delayedFR:PX1+3.71%
slipped 0.1%.

What’s moving the markets?

After two consecutive days of gains on raised trade hopes, European markets edged lower on Tuesday as investors awaited further developments.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said trade envoys on both sides have agreed to hold further talks on a preliminary deal. State media Xinhua News Agency said the two countries had agreed to “maintain communication” on remaining issues around the Phase 1 deal.

After months of conflicting news investors failed to get excited by more talks. Connor Campbell, analyst at spread-betting company Spreadex, said the developments were “a tad too vague to spark significant growth, at least not after Monday’s gains.”

Asian markets were mixed overnight and European stocks opened lower, weighed down by travel companies and banks. U.S. stock futures also nudged lower despite Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell’s upbeat speech on the economy on Monday. Attention will turn to U.S. consumer confidence figures later on Tuesday.

German consumer sentiment is set to rise in December, according to research group GfK, due to improving economic and income expectations. But the improvement did little to help the DAX, which traded 0.3% down.

Which stocks are active?

Shares of U.K. bank note and passport printer De La Rue /zigman2/quotes/206574260/delayedUK:DLAR-6.64%
plunged more than 20% on Tuesday as the company voiced fears about its future, suspended its dividend and reported a loss in the first half of the year.

Compass Group /zigman2/quotes/200043088/delayedUK:CPG+3.73%
fell 5.1% after the FTSE 100 support-services company reported a 3.3% fall in pre-tax profit for the fiscal year 2019. However, full-year revenue growth of 6.4% beat targets of a 4%-6% rise.

Pets at Home /zigman2/quotes/200736034/delayedUK:PETS+2.93%
climbed 10% in early trading as the company said it now expected full-year profit at the top end of the market consensus due to higher demand for its pet food and vet services.

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